What 562 olives and 9,000 litres of water have to do with your dishes

Pia Seidel

4.5.2025

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

Pictures: Pia Seidel

Ever thought about how your table setting can tell stories? Every fork, every glass, every plate – they’re all more than just functional. They reflect your style, your attitude and sometimes even your values.

Dining culture is back and being celebrated once again. It’s all about turning your table into a stage where design and pleasure become one. The focus is no longer just about food, but about the experience as a whole. Milan Design Week 2025 (MDW) proved that tableware, cutlery and glasses can be deliberately put in the limelight. After all, how you serve food is just as important as what you serve.

In this series, I’ll regularly be presenting examples of modern tableware – from eye-catching designs to poetic arrangements. Trace is kicking things off.

Trace – when design reveals the invisible cost of our food

Fertile soils are a finite resource. Every year, around 24 billion tons of soil worldwide is lost worldwide to erosion. A trend that’s exacerbated by climate change and intensive farming.

The concept of Trace by Ananas Ananas addresses this problem and makes it tangible. The sculptural tableware consists of stainless steel elements, compacted soil from former agricultural land and dehydrated oyster shells from Baja California, Mexico – materials all directly linked to the problem.

About Ananas Ananas

Mexican studio Ananas Ananas was founded by Verónica González and Elena Petrossian and transforms food into design. With its experimental tableware and temporary installations, it invites you to consciously enjoy the food you eat. The studio already caused a stir at Milan Design Week 2024 with a pop-up bar consisting of mirrored table decorations and a bright orange backdrop – an experience that, like everything they do, was designed to be temporary.

According to Ananas Ananas, the earth loses around three kilos of fertile soil for every meal we have. Trace translates this invisible loss into design objects that invite you to stop and think. Polished stainless steel surfaces reflect more than just light, they also act as mirrors of the responsibility we have. «The remnants of a changing landscape are being rethought and repurposed,» the artist explains.

562 olives – water consumption made visible

Water’s another scarce source and we often underestimate how much of it is used. «To produce 562 olives, you need about 9,000 litres of water.» It’s a figure that’s hard to grasp.

To make water consumption more tangible, Ananas Ananas banded together with design and research agency Parasite 2.0 and created an installation for MDW. Taking centre stage is tableware made of compacted earth resting on a floating organza tablecloth: a symbol of the fragility of our resources. Light falls on perfectly polished stainless steel surfaces, shaped like the contours of the earth, which reflect our responsibility.

The installation condenses the 9,000 litres of water required for 562 olives into a single design object. It addresses global problems such as soil erosion, climate change and the consequences of our consumption. The contrast between raw materials and smooth stainless steel surfaces creates a dialogue between nature and human intervention.

Design with a message

Trace and 562 Olives aim to make the hidden costs of our consumption visible. Ananas Ananas not only strives to create aesthetic objects, but also to raise awareness of environmental issues.

The table becomes the stage for a quiet but powerful message: how we eat affects the world. The collection challenges you to question your consumption and take responsibility. Through the use of different materials, light and symbolism, these projects become more than just design objects, they’re a reflection of our time.

Follow me to stay tuned. The next instalment is all about tableware that’s stylish, inspiring and potentially even appetising.

Pia Seidel

Senior Editor

Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.ch

Like a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.

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